Ch’êng-huang is the Celestial Mandarin or City-god. Every fortified city or town in China is surrounded by a wall, ch’êng, composed usually of two battlemented walls, the space between which is filled with earth. This earth is dug from the ground outside, making a ditch, or huang, running parallel with the ch’êng. The Ch’êng-huang is the spiritual official of the city or town. All the numerous Ch’êng-huang constitute a celestial Ministry of Justice, presided over by a Ch’êng-huang-in-chief.

The origin of the worship of the Ch’êng-huang dates back to the time of the great Emperor Yao (2357 B. C. ), who instituted a sacrifice called Pa Cha in honour of eight spirits, of whom the seventh, Shui Yung, had the Page 166meaning of, or corresponded to, the dyke and rampart known later as Ch’êng-huang. Since the Sung dynasty sacrifices have been offered to the Ch’êng-huang all over the country, though now and then some towns have adopted another or special god as their Ch’êng-huang, such as Chou Hsin, adopted as the Ch’êng-huang of Hangchou, the capital of Chekiang Province. Concerning Chou Hsin, who had a “face of ice and iron,” and was so much dreaded for his severity that old and young fled at his approach, it is related that once when he was trying a case a storm blew some leaves on to his table.

In spite of diligent search the tree to which this kind of leaf belonged could not be found anywhere in the neighbourhood, but was eventually discovered in a Buddhist temple a long way off. The judge declared that the priests of this temple must be guilty of murder. By his order the tree was felled, and in its trunk was found the body of a woman who had been assassinated, and the priests were convicted of the murder.